First Dutch banker offers crisis apologies

Floris Deckers, the ceo of Van Lanschot Bankers, is the first Dutch banker to openly apologise for the role banks have played in the current economic crisis.

In an opinion piece in NRC Handelsblad, Decker writes: "In the current recession, with the extent of the problems in the banking sector, and from someone who wants to be a decent banker for the rest of his working life, apologies are in order. I hereby offer them."

Before he became the ceo of Van Lanschot, Deckers made a career at ABN Amro, where he was the head of the Brazilian and Dutch divisions. He was one of the top bankers who were questioned about the credit crisis by members of the Dutch parliament last November.

While some American and British bankers have admitted mistakes, not one of the Dutch bankers has been willing to express regret over the crisis. This let to growing criticism aginst the banking sector in Dutch society, despite bankers' claims that their operations had not been nearly as risky as those in the US and the UK.

Deckers says he doesn't apologise for the behaviour of Van Lanschot as such. The bank has so far been little affected by the crisis because it hasn't invested in the toxic financial products that caused the global credit crunch. That's why Deckers initially said it would be "grotesque" to apologise for things he had nothing to do with.

But he says he came to the realisation that, as an executive of a mid-size bank and an experienced banker, his responsibly is greater than for just his own company. "On top of that, I have had serious concerns over parts of the common practices over the past years," he writes. "I blame myself, and I think it is blameworthy that I did not soundly rate the uncomfortable feeling it gave me."